Top of the Mourning

In David Lindsay-Abaire’s sensitive, Pulitzer Prize-winning play Rabbit Hole, opening Friday at Main Street Playhouse (6766 Main St., Miami Lakes), the story’s leading actors have to emotionally conjure the most unthinkable type of mourning: the death of a child. Howie and Becky, parents in their late 30s, lose their 4-year-old son, Denny, after he is accidentally struck by a 17-year-old’s car. The play’s drama focuses on their polarized forms of grief, namely Becky’s avoidant, unconscious desire to erase any shred of evidence of her son’s existence and Howie’s anger at what he views as his wife’s improper reaction to the tragedy. These are taxing roles for everyone in the cast, not the least the part of Jason, the teenager behind the wheel, who tries to enter the married couple’s life with a touching sci-fi narrative inspired by their son. If you’ve seen the well-received 2010 film version with Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart, you know the play’s drill, but what’s really exciting about this community production is that it’s running concurrently with Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People, over at GableStage, meaning Miami audiences can catch two of the playwright’s most respected works just a short drive from each other. Rabbit Hole runs at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, with an additional 8 p.m. performance August 1. The show plays through August 11. Tickets cost $25 for adults and $18 for seniors and students. Call 305-558-3737 or visit mainstreetplayers.com.
July 26-Aug. 11, 2013